Among her lovers there were famous names such as that of Franz Liszt, Alexandre Dumas fils and that of the Bavarian King Ludwig I, she was an actress, a writer, she held conferences appealing, but she was above all the most popular Spanish dancer in the world and probably since then she is still today ... Her name?

Lola Montez

- picture 1 -

' She is fatal to any man who dares to love her'

Alexandre Dumas, pere.

In her life she claimed to be the illegitimate daughter of Lord Byron, the daughter of a Spanish aristocrat kidnapped by gypsies, and even more, but the reality was much simpler and less romance-like.

Lola was born Maria Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert on February 16th, 1821 in the green countryside of Ireland (although some biographers claim that her birth dates back to 1818, the research indicates that 1821 corresponds to the correct date ) and being her father in the army she soon found herself living her childhood in Calcutta, India. Contracted a deadly form of cholera, her father Edward died almost immediately, leaving his wife a widow, who married the following year and sent her daughter to complete her cultural education in Britain, as so often at that time happened, by some distant relatives of her new husband. In 1837, her mother joined her in Bath, where Eliza was conducted to study, with the intention to marry her to a senior judge of the Supreme Court of India, Sir Abraham Lumley, but she, in anticipation of such a marriage (she was just 16, the judge 60 ! ), preferred to flee with Lt Thomas James, who had accompanied her mother to Bath from India and was courting her; the two got married, but in 1842 she was abandoned by her husband for another woman and it was then that she decided to pursue a career as a dancer: her debut in London on June 1843 as "Lola Montez, the Spanish dancer" was ruined when she was recognized as Mrs. James, but the sudden and immense fame that followed it didn't compromise her career, and she soon became famous all over Europe both for the particular dance she created, 'The spider dance' and for her expression "Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets it."

- picture 2 on the left - In fact it was said that Lola wasn't a very capable dancer, as didn't has a good sense of rhythm, but this 'flaw' made up for by a strong sense of dramaticity. Her costume consisted of a very dark black lace dress, for better highlight her beautiful face, her ivory complexion and her eyes of an almost startling blue, framed by lustrous dark hair, and a decoration of red roses. The name of her dance comes from the fact that she moved as if she had to find on her body the spider in question, hence the increasingly rapid pace and, inevitably, the prominence of the movement of her gown that would have shown most of her legs in an era in which people kept covered even the legs of the piano. The secret of her success was perhaps this, her shamelessness that led her to become a famous adventurer and to have many lovers, including some famous names such as Alexandre Dumas, Alexandre Dujarier and Franz Liszt, who introduced her to the circle of George Sand, one of the most sophisticated of European society.

- picture 3

It was the name of George Sand the pseudonym of Amantine (or Amandine) Aurore Lucile Dupin, author of Parisian origin who not only had chosen to write with a male name, but often dressed male clothing: at that time, to write by choosing a male 'nom de plume' was a rather common choice dictated by the suspicion that the average audience felt towards a woman, prejudicially considered just as an artist of inferior quality; how to dress as a man, as well as being cheaper, as she herself confessed in her Memoirs, it was also a way to be able to attend places then barred to women and to express her desire for independence from prejudice and the rejection of conformity in the name of the freedom of the spirit ( you have to know that along with George, Lola dressed herself with male clothing and go through the streets of the city of Paris smoking cigars ! ).

- picture 4 -Ludwig I, Porträt von Joseph Karl Stieler, 1825

In 1846 Lola arrived in Monaco, where she asked to be presented to the king of Bavaria, Ludwig I, great patron and esthete, lover of art, music and poetry, ableto transform Monaco in the European capital of culture, realizing the Königsplatz, the wide Ludwigstraße with the Ludwigkirche, the Siegestor (Arch of Peace) and other important buildings, such as the Art Galleries that made famous works of art accessible to citizens, moving to Monaco from Landshut the University, radically transforming in this way the image and completely redesigning the Bavarian capital. The king was then 62 years and had recently been abandoned by his wife who, after giving him eight children, had retired to a convent, and, charmed by the young-looking and fascinating girl with the exotic name, - picture 5as if under a spell, succumbed to her flattery and never denied her anything; their first meeting was a true success and all the theaters of Monaco opened their doors to Lola: during her first appearance the public reserved her a lukedwarm welcome, while the king, more and more enchanted by this beautiful woman, gives her as a gift an elegant villa in Pompeian style near the Karolinenplatz which became her residence and immediately orders to Stieler her portrait to be added to those already present in the gallery of the beauties created in Schloß Schleißheim, the official residence of the king at the gates of Monaco ( the 36 paintings composing thecollection are now exposed at Schloß Nymphenburg )

the nobility, the bourgeoisie, all the people around weren't able to recognizes their own king, until then an example of honesty and seriousness, now intent only to dress her beloved with precious jewels and important clothes ... she became important even in state affairs and politics, the king askes for her suggestions, always has her at his side and comes to name her Countess of Landsfeld on August 25th, 1847, the day of his birthday, and dame of the Order of Santa Teresa, an honor reserved for noble women of blue blood only.

The situation becomes increasingly tense when Lola convinces the king to enter upon a more progressive policy, reversing definitely the bureaucracy by removing the conservatism of the Jesuits, which until then had been at the helm of the government and had full powers, the king was forced to abdicate and Lola had to flee to Switzerland, then to London and finally to America where she'll continue her career as a dancer .... and 'adventuress' .. or courtesan. It was March 30th, 1848 when the king gives his throne to his son Maximilian to continue to live in the shadows for the duration of his whole reign, and for part of that of his grandson Ludwig II.

The king really loved Lola and although realizing that this love affair earned him his throne, he continued to write her for three years, and to send her an annual allowance of 70,000 gulden (the gulden was the Bavarian florin ), until he was fully convinced of the fact that she had built herself a new life... going on practising what she herself had to define the " ART OF FASCINATING ". 2

- picture 8

Fairy tales, the real ones, always have a happy ending, but the story of the love between Lola Montez and King Ludwig I of Bavaria ends in an unfortunate way, but it almost seems an example of how extraordinary the nineteenth century was .... to think that a country girl with humble origins has come to lead to the abdication of a king is really unbelivable ! I embrace you, my dear friends, wishing you all the best and I thank you with all my heart. See you soon ♥

Bibliography:

Bruce Seymour, Lola Montez: A Life,Yale University Press, 1996

Lola Montez, The arts of beauty; or, Secrets of a lady's toilet (1858), Dick & Fitzgerald, New York

@ Lisabeauty and intelligence are two very powerful weapons in the hands of a woman, especially at that time ... and if, as they say, she was also shrewd, ... she didn't lack anything to enchant men ... poor Ludwig, he was really in love with her, but I wonder that, for the first time in her life, she also was fallen in love with him ​​... actually I suppose so !Sending hugs dearie, for wishing you with all my heart a lovely end of the week ❥

@ Junewhy on earth you go to bed so late, you don't have to my dear friend !!!Anyway, I'm so very glad to read you've enjoyed this story ... yes, king Ludwig was a true example of fool for love, without any doubt !

What a fascinating story Dany. Lola Montez sounds like a very determined and strong woman that was ahead of her time. How sad that she did not get to that ever lasting love. Thank you once again for such wonderful tails of history. It is always such a pleasure to visit you Dany and I am so thankful for your visits and your lovely words of encouragement and inspiration.

@ JanetI'm truly thankful for your sincere friendship, my dear and sweet friend !When we loose a member of our family, such your Angel was, we are called to pass through a dark tunnel, so dark and so long, and the whole world suddenly changes to our eyes, and we need so much time before our life goes right again, I do perfectly know it ... thank you for everything, always, dearie !ஜ Have a serene new week ஜ

About me

I've devoted my training in passions which have characterized my temperament since my early childhood, such as an incommensurate love for nature, whether it's outdoor living, plants or animals, that today I express taking lovingly care of a large garden, mine, which calls forth a romantic atmosphere, with its plants and with the style of the statues populating it, and living with two lovable cats, with the cutest and adorable baby-bunny and with two very funny and affectionate geese, the fascination for the story as a justification for everything that we encounter in our lives today, for the objects clad by the patina of time, the propensity towards all that pleases and enriches the soul that led me to cultivate theoretical and aesthetic studies, and the love for home that I've always lived like a nest, which protects and must be protected, a nest that welcomes and that must be able to communicate the love of those who live in it to anyone is going to enter it ... Oh, and last but not least is the joy it gives me to transfer in images feelings and moods, capturing moments .. to rediscover ... in a photograph ...

They have no Robes, nor Names -No Almanacs - nor Climes But general HomesLike Gnomes -

Their Coming, may be knownBy Couriers within -Their going - is not -For they're never gone -

Emily Dickinson, F303 (1862)

Let us be grateful to the

people who makes us

happy;

they are the charming

gardeners who make our

souls blossom.

Marcel Proust

Every day is a little life,

every awakening a small birth,

every new morning is a small youth.

Arthur Schopenhauer

There is a road

from the eye to the heart

that does not go

through the intellect.

G.K.Chesterton

As the years pass,

I'm coming more and more to understand

that it is the common, everyday blessings

of our common everyday lives

for which we should be particularly grateful.

They are the things that fill our days with comfort

and our hearts with gladness.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Home is among the holiest of words.

A true home is one of the most sacred of places.

It is a sanctuary into which men flee from the world's perils and alarms.

It is a resting-place to which at close of day the weary retire to gather new strength for the battle and toils of tomorrow.

It is the place where love learns its lessons, where life is schooled into discipline and strength, where character is molded.

J.R. Miller, Secrets of Happy Home Life

A good character makes a special person,

charisma makes her bright.

But it is humility that makes her truly unique.

Mother Theresa

She burned too bright

for this world.

Charlotte Brontee, Wuthering Heights

I feel more and more everyday, as

my imagination strengthens, that I

do not live in this world alone but in

a thousands worlds.

John Keats

Philosophy and Art both render the invisible visible by imagination.

George Henry Lewes

A poet is a nightingale,

who sits in darkness and sing

to cheer its own solitude

with sweet sounds;

his auditors are as men entranced

by the melody of an unseen musician,

who feel that they are moved and softened,

yet know not whence or why.

Percy Bysse Shelley

I am not a woman, but the light

that falls on this gate, on this ground.

I'm the seasons, I think sometimes,

January, May, November;

the mud, the mist, the dawn.

Virginia Woolf, The Waves

All the words that I utter, And all the words that I write, Must spread out their wings untiring,And never rest in their flight, Till they come where your sad, sad heart is, And sing to you in the night, Beyond where the waters are moving, Storm-darken'd or starry bright.

A kind soul has featured me and my world

A delicate and lovely gift to Tenuta Geremia and me

My very first guests

~ THE FIRST LECTURE WHICH, SO MOVED, I HELD

It was such a great emotion, honour and privilege to me I won't ever forget, representing the fulfilment of a Dream in the name of my Love and Esteem for the Charismatic Figure of Elisabeth, Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, and the fascinating period which She lived in, the Victorian Age.

~ SAT. AUGUST 6th, 2016 ~

DURING HER STAYS IN OUR SANREMO. Working amongst archive documents, I wrote with so much love this essay (obviously in Italian), filled with photographs and paintings dating back to the end of the XIXth century. Click on the image of its cover if you wish to purchase "L'Agave senza Spine".